Dear Readers,
Welcome to this part of cyber-space brought to you by courtesy of Yahoo.com.
From this vantage, I hope to present my quest for a writer's life, incorporating other writers' belvedere -- both fellow-aspirants as well as accomplished writers, from all of whom I will be well-pleased to learn. For sure, not all who write would earn the accolade of being regarded as a "writer" anymore than working in a kitchen makes one a chef.
Some years back, I had read a short story from a magazine about the look of somebody's eye as he pulled a con job off an insurance agent. The front-cover described the story as 'Loafing In The City'.
That's simply not true. Creative writing is not an indulgence or an incidental past-time for want of something better to do.
I did not choose to write. Writing chose me, so to speak, when I was enthralled some years back by the delightful prose, stories, screenplays and poems as contained in the several issues of Literary Calvacade, a magazine published by Scholastic Inc., which I had read from cover to cover at the National Libraries in Bedok and along Stamford Road. It's now vital for my well-being to create some space, spring forth ideas and, in so doing, connect with readers, and (hopefully) make life a little better for having written and being read.
Each of us, when still or at a certain stage in life, will hear a growing and certain drum-beat to pursue a humdinger (good thing) above and beyond the sacrosanct things of a life well-lived.
To me, a writer's life is the good thing. Write, I must, to discover and unravel the depths and core of my being; to know wherein lies my heart and values.
Ruby Bayan of OurSimpleJoys.com said, "Write from the heart about things that matters to other people, too." Even if we don't aspire to write, we can share good writings with others. Remember Lila and DeWitt Wallace? They were the two avid readers who put together the best articles they could find and started a new magazine called Reader's Digest in 1922.
Creative writing is serious business. One might say that it's no less a profession than the others. You need a good grasp of language, writing skills, perseverance, and some creative talent and imagination. Then, there is the ongoing process of learning new things (research) and honing new skills (technique). And, the requirement for keeping to good conduct and ethical practices as a professional writer.
But to the un-initiated, writing does appear to be a cinch (and that bestselling novelist had it easy for so little work). Why is this so? In "How to Plot a Novel" by Patricia McGerr, an article in The Writer's Digest Guide to Good Writing, she said, 'The hardest writing, it's often said, makes the easiest reading. Comparably, the main object of these elaborate preparations is to make it seem to the reader that the novel wrote itself.'